Apparatus and method for monitoring airing events in humidors

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus are described herein related to an environmental monitoring system configured to avoid spoilage of goods by alerting a supervisor to hazardous conditions. A cigar humidor may be monitored by placing a cigar-shaped and cigar-sized sensor-equipped component made from metal or cedar wood inside the humidor amongst the cigars. The sensors monitor a plurality of parameters, of which relative humidity is of particular importance for cigar humidors. One hazardous condition, which is tracked by the system is the absence of an airing event for a period greater than a pre-configured interval. Once an airing event has been absent for a long enough time period, either a pre-alert or a full alert is being issued. The system offers multiple alternative ways of detecting airing events including time series anomaly discovery algorithms with grammar-based compression.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable to this application.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable to this application.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The document relates to systems, devices, methods, and related computerprogram products for environmental monitoring. More particularly, thispatent specification relates to humidity monitoring units includinghazard alerting technology, that are useful in monitoring humidors usedfor storing cigars.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Prior Art

Any discussion of the related art throughout the specification should inno way be considered as an admission that such related art is widelyknown or forms part of common general knowledge in the field. Unlessotherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section arenot prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted tobe prior art by inclusion in this section.

The ideal storage conditions for a cigar are approximately 70 per centhumidity at 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Air at different temperatures willhold completely different amounts of moisture. The best way to storecigars is in a humidor. The purpose of a humidor is to recreate themild, humid climate of the Caribbean, where the cigars are made. Everyhumidor contains some kind of humidifying element. A humidor can also beused to age cigars. While aging, cigars of the same brand should be kepttogether, without the cellophane, in a cedar-lined humidor. The benefitof this is to draw out any excessive moisture and allow the cigars to“marry.” Marriage is when the cigars absorb each other's oils and createone unique flavor. The cedar will also add to the flavor of the cigars.In regular intervals the humidor needs to be opened for a few hours tolet the air hit the cigars or they will acquire a musty taste. With theadvent of environmental monitoring technology, electronic sensors havebeen introduced to humidors, which allow users to continuously monitorparameters such as relative humidity. Since the Internet-of-Thingsrevolution, many of these sensors allow remote monitoring over theInternet. It is also possible that that an alert is triggered whenever aset upper or lower limit on an environmental parameter is breached.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,306 issued to Marco Mularoni on Dec. 5, 2000discloses a humidity sensing device dimensioned to be received in ahumidor for detecting an out of range ambient moisture condition andtransmitting a signal to a remote monitor.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/761,673 filed on Feb. 19, 2014 byBernd Abel et al. discloses a device for influencing the room climate.The application discloses open window detection methods accomplishedeither by window contacts or, alternatively, by a drop in roomtemperature in a pre-defined interval of time.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/617,619 filed on Feb. 9, 2015 byDavid Sloo et al. discloses a smart hazard detector providing follow upcommunications to detection events.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/867,775 filed on Apr. 22, 2013 byAshok Sabata et al. discloses a solution for wirelessly monitoringenvironmental parameters with smartphones and tablets .

SUMMARY

The present invention recognizes that it is desirable to alert astakeholder not only to the presence of a certain environmentalcondition, but also to the prolonged absence of one. Thus it may also bethe time period denoting the absence of an environmental condition orthe time period since a particular environmental event which may be ofinterest. In the context of a cigar humidor it is of particular interestwhat time has elapsed since the last airing out of the humidor. This isbecause certain embodiments of the present invention feature a functionthat alerts a stakeholder whenever a humidor has not been aired outwithin a prescribed interval.

The present invention solves the problem of detecting airing out eventsin various embodiments. In the simplest embodiment an operator presses anotification button whenever a humidor has been aired out. In anotherembodiment the signal from a door contact is used to automaticallydetect an airing event. In a preferred embodiment changes inenvironmental parameters such as humidity and temperature are analyzedby a plurality of processors in order to look for certain signaturechanges which are suitable for detecting an airing event.

The present invention, in part, solves the problem of how to detect anairing event from a time series of measured environmental parameters byapplying mathematical methods centered on time series anomaly discovery.Whereas the prior art is restricted to crude estimates of suddengradient increase in temperature, the present invention has beenimplemented in a preferred embodiment by time series anomaly discoverywith grammar based compression. However, the present invention may alsobe practiced with alternative methods of time series anomaly discovery.

The present invention also solves the problem of contamination of theair inside a humidor by fumes given off by the sensor device itself, byusing stainless steel, anodized aluminum, polished brass or wood as asuitable material for the casing of any components placed directlyinside the humidor. The invention may also be practiced with othermaterials for the casing, as long as it is assured that the material isincapable of releasing fumes or smells. In a preferred embodiment of theinvention the sensor casing is made from materials comprising wood ofthe type Spanish Cedar. By encasing the sensor in Spanish Cedar wood anumber of important advantages may be gained, namely: a positive effecton cigar flavor, protection from tobacco beetles and regulation ofhumidity and temperature. It has to be noted that Spanish Cedar wood isby far the most effective wood type for regulating temperature andhumidity levels in a humidor. After Spanish Cedar, American Red Cedar isanother suitable type of wood for use in the said sensor casing. One ofthe downsides associated with American Red Cedar is that over time thecigars stored in the humidor may develop a somewhat “woody” flavor,which is not desired. Another embodiment of the sensor casing uses woodof the type Honduran Mahogany. The humidity absorption rate for HonduranMahogany is similar to that of Spanish Cedar, and it does not have anintense odor like American Red Cedar wood. However, it is not as stronga deterrent on tobacco beetles and worms as Spanish cedar, and does nothelp maintain flavor as good either.

The present invention furthermore solves the problem of having to placethe sensor device as close to the merchandise stored in the humidor aspossible, whilst at the same time being economic on space requirements,by using a shape for the sensor casing that is adapted from the shapeand size of the merchandise. In other words, in the context of a humidorfor cigars the present invention does favor the approximate shape of acigar as the preferred shape for the sensor casing.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, some of the features ofthe disclosed humidor monitoring technique in order that the detaileddescription thereof may be better understood, and in order that thepresent contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There areadditional features of the humidor monitoring technique that will bedescribed hereinafter and that will form the subject matter of theclaims appended hereto. In this respect, before explaining at least oneembodiment of the humidor monitoring technique in detail, it is to beunderstood that the humidor monitoring technique is not limited in itsapplication to the details of construction or to the arrangements of thecomponents set forth in the following description or illustrated in thedrawings. The humidor monitoring technique is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminologyemployed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not beregarded as limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments will become more fully understood from the detaileddescription given herein below and the accompanying drawings, whereinlike elements are represented by like reference characters, which aregiven by way of illustration only and thus are not limitative of theexample embodiments herein.

FIG. 1A illustrates the overall system architecture of a distributedhumidor monitoring system, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 1B shows the casing and preferred placement of the humidormonitoring system, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart depicting the control flow starting from adetection event through to the issuance of an alert, according to anexample embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart depicting alternative ways of detecting an airingevent, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a graph depicting a time series of relative humidity datacomprising an anomaly signifying an airing event, according to anexample embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a timing diagram illustrating how alert states are changeddepending on a threshold being exceeded on a door sensor, according toan example embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a use case diagram depicting the use cases associated with ahumidor supervisor.

FIG. 7 is a use case diagram depicting the use cases associated with aHumidor Sensor Processing System, a Distributed Humidor ManagementSystem and a humidor user.

FIG. 8 is a component diagram illustrating the components comprised inthe Humidor Sensors package and the Humidor Sensor Processing Systempackage, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a component diagram illustrating the components comprised inthe Distributed HSPS Management System package, according to an exampleembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Conventional sensors deployed in cigar humidors tend to log a number ofenvironmental parameters, most importantly relative humidity, and alertthe user to a preset threshold being breached on any of theseparameters. Rather than having a humidor monitoring system dispatchingan alert only on breach of a threshold of an environmental parameter,embodiments detailed herein describe a monitoring system whereindetection of an environmental event sets off a timer and an alert isbeing processed at the expiry of the timer interval. Alternative methodsof setting off the timer are described hereinafter. In the simplestembodiment a user notifies the system of an event through a userinterface. Such notification may be effected by pressing a button on thesensor, or by making such notification via smartphone app, for example.Alternatively, in other embodiments, the timer may be set off bymonitoring for a “door open” state, wherein when the humidor door hasbeen detected to have been open for a length of time exceeding athreshold, the timer is started. In a preferred embodiment the timer isstarted whenever environmental parameters measured inside the humidorindicate an airing event. In particular, relative humidity has beenfound by the present inventors to be a parameter which is especiallysuitable for estimating the occurrence of an airing event. Otherparameters or a combination of parameters are possible also. In thepreferred embodiment an airing event is detected by configuring aprocessor to analyze a time series of measurements of relative humidityin real time. In order to detect an airing event outliers in thehumidity curve are being detected using a suitable algorithm for timeseries anomaly discovery. An outlier is defined as an observation whichappears to be inconsistent with the rest of the data. So the outlier isan atypical data not matching the pattern suggested by the majority ofobservations. The problem of anomaly detection in time series has beenapproached in various ways. However, most techniques require the user toprovide the length of a potential anomaly, which is impractical in thesetting of the present invention, whereby it is precisely the length ofthe anomaly which is a prime interest when detecting an airing event.Many of these algorithms are built upon costly distance functions whichmay account for around 90 per cent of the algorithm's computation time.Because of these considerations the present inventors have elected toimplement time series anomaly discovery with grammar-based compression.A preferred embodiment of the present invention uses an algorithmpublished by Senin et. al. That algorithm discretizes continuous timeseries values into symbolic form, infers a context-free grammar, andexploits its hierarchical structure to effectively and efficientlydiscover algorithmic irregularities that are related to anomalies. Theapproach taken is based on the general principle of Kolmogorovcomplexity where the randomness in a sequence is a function of itsalgorithmic incompressibility. A preferred embodiment of the presentinvention was implemented with GrammarViz 3.0, an open source Java toolfor time series pattern mining. The GrammarViz approach for time seriespattern discovery is based on two algorithms that have linear time andspace complexity, namely Symbolic Aggregate Approximation (SAX) thatdiscretizes the input time series into a string, and Sequitur, thatinduces a context-free grammar from it. By exploiting the hierarchicalstructure of the context-free grammar, GrammarViz is able to identifyrare and frequent grammar rules in real time, i.e. along with the signalacquisition.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a distributed humidor monitoringsystem comprising a humidor sensor processing system, which in turncomprises the innovative airing detection technology alongside thecorresponding airing timer. The figure depicts a cigar humidor 115,containing an instance of a Humidor Sensor Processing System (HSPS) 100.The humidor is situated in a building 105, such as a shop in acommercial setting, or a residential house in a private setting. Thebuilding contains a plurality of at least one Internet router 117 whichis wirelessly networked with the HSPS 100. Furthermore there is anattendant 116, a person who is regularly in the same building as thehumidor. It is the said attendant who would normally carry out theregular airing out operations which are so crucial for maintaining thecorrect environmental conditions for long-term storage of high-endcigars. In some embodiments the said attendant would also be tasked tonotify the system either by pressing a button on the HSPS casing or byusing a smartphone app, whenever he or she has carried out an airing outoperation. In other more advanced embodiments the system would detectsuch airing out operations automatically. The figure further depictsanother stakeholder, namely a sales rep 125. The sales rep is astakeholder who has an interest that the environmental conditions insidecigar humidors in a plurality of associated shops 105 are always at anoptimum. The sales rep 125 keeps track of the said plurality of humidorsby being assisted by an application typically hosted on a smartphone120. However it is possible to host the Humidor Account Monitoring App(HAMA) 170 on any other suitable computing device, such as a tabletcomputer, a notebook computer or a desktop computer. The said HAMA appis connected via a remote network to the plurality of HSPS. Usually theInternet 110 is used to provide the required connectivity.

The HSPS component 150 is comprised in the depicted embodiment of ahumidity sensor 151, an airing detector 152, an “airing accomplished”button 153, an airing timer 156, a wireless local area networktransceiver 157 and an audio-visual alerter 158. Furthermore the HSPScomprises its own data storage capability 154 for account data in theform of a suitable read/write persistent memory component, such as flashmemory or a hard drive. The humidity sensor 151, may be realized as anycommonly available electronic component capable of taking a measurementof relative humidity. In a preferred embodiment the HoneywellHIH4000-001 Humidity Sensor (3-Pin SIP) was utilized. The airingdetector 152 represents any component which is capable of determining ifand when an airing-out event has taken place. In a preferred embodimentthe airing-out events are detected by using an algorithm capable ofdetecting outliers in a time series of measurements of relativehumidity. Other ways of automatically detecting an airing-out event arealso possible. The “airing accomplished” button 153, serves a similarpurpose as the airing detector, wherein the airing-out event is detectedby explicit notification through a human person, as opposed to automaticdetection. In this way whenever an operator of a cigar humidor, forexample, is airing out the humidor, the operator has the option ofpressing a button on the HSPS which serves as notification that thehumidor has been aired out successfully. There are other possibilitiesof accomplishing the same goal, other than pressing a button. Operatinga smartphone app with an inbuilt notification function would be anexample of an alternative embodiment. Both the airing detector 152 andthe “airing accomplished” button 153 serve the purpose of triggering theairing timer 156. The purpose of the airing timer is to keep track ofhow much time has passed since the last airing-out event. The airingtimer 156 is configured with a time limit, after which another airing ofthe humidor is due. The said time limit may be dynamically re-configuredin order to account for different merchandise having different airingschedules. Once the pre-configured time period since the last airingevent has elapsed, then a localized audio-visual alert 158 may be outputby the HSPS. The audio-visual alert may take the form of a blinkinglight, a buzzer, or any other form suitable of making an operator of thehumidor aware of that fact that the humidor needs airing out. In apreferred embodiment the audio-visualalerter 158 takes the form of aslowly flashing light-emitting diode (LED). In order to allow remotemonitoring the HSPS needs to be connected to a remote network. For thatpurpose the HSPS is equipped with a wireless local area network (WLAN)transceiver 157 which in turn allows access to the Internet via a router117. Other suitable methods of connecting wirelessly to a remote networkmay be used in alternative embodiments. In particular it is possiblethat the Internet may be accessed directly by the HSPS without arequirement to route through a local area network as an intermediatestep. The HSPS comprises its own data storage 154. The data storage 154is used mainly for account data. Each site 105 comprising a plurality ofhumidors is mapped to a humidor account in a preferred embodiment. It isthe account specific data that is persistently stored and buffered inthe account data component 154. The account data 154 comprises arepository of data derived from environmental sensors, as well as anevent log and parameter data. The parameter data comprises configurationdata, such as presets for the timeouts in relation to the airing timer.It is important that such timeouts are individually configurable peraccount because different brands of merchandise tend to have differentenvironmental requirements including airing specifications.

The HSPS 150 can placed into a cigar humidor. In a preferred embodimentthe HSPS is shaped and sized in a similar fashion as a cigar. Byselecting this shape and size the present inventors found that thisenables easy placement of the HSPS in virtually any humidor rackdesigned to hold cigars. By placing the HSPS in a rack designed forcigars yields another important advantage, namely that the HSPS can takemeasurements of environmental data in the closest physical proximitypossible to the merchandise subject to environmental monitoring. Sincethe invention can be practiced in other embodiments the same principlewould apply to the measurement of environmental parameters formerchandise other than cigars. For example if the environmentalconditions were to be monitored with regards to the storage of eggs inan egg container comprising a plurality of racks designed to hold eggs,then the optimal size and shape for an HSPS casing would be that of anegg. If the HSPS were to be mounted at a place more distant to theactual merchandise, then the measurements taken would run the risk thatthe environmental conditions in the storage container are not identicalat all places inside the container, i.e. that the conditions aremarginally different in the direct vicinity of the merchandise than theyare at other points in the container.

The Humidor Account Monitoring App (HAMA) 170 which is hosted on asmartphone-type device comprises account data 174 relating to aplurality of humidor accounts. The said account data 174 is synchronizedwith related account data hosted by the plurality of HSPS in regularintervals. The monitoring app 170 uses the account data 174 as input forthe statistics engine 171. The statistical analysis performed by thestatistics engine 171 primarily in order to gain business intelligencerelated to environmental monitoring of cigar humidors. The account data174 also feeds the account alert engine 172, which is utilized foralerting a stakeholder, most commonly a sales representative 125, to anactionable environmental condition. In the context of the described usecase it is the absence an airing event over a prescribed period of timewhich is an example of such an actionable environmental condition. Otherexamples would be the temperature or the humidity deviating from apre-defined target band. The account data 174 also comprises datagathered from the account configuration interface 173. The accountconfiguration engine 173 related primarily to entering and storingmaster data relating to humidor accounts as well as accountconfiguration data, such as alert preferences. The respectiverepositories of account data on the HSPS and the HAMA are subject toregular synchronization 160 over the Internet 170.

FIG. 1B shows the casing and placement of the HSPS in a preferredembodiment. The present inventors have realized that the prior artsolutions of measuring relative humidity in a cigar humidor are besetwith a number of problems. An example of a prior art wireless sensor forrelative humidity marketed for humidor use would be the iCelsiusWireless RH. That product and a host of similar products sold in thepresent marketplace suffer from the fact that major components are madefrom plastics, such as thermoplastics, of which polyethylene would be anexample and thermosets, of which urea formaldehyde would be an example.The problem with plastics casings in a humidor setting is that plasticstend to produce fumes or smells, which can negatively affect the tasteof a cigar. A humidor is a place that is designed to have very littlecirculation of air and even a small degree of fumes from plastics wouldhave a detrimental effect on the taste and flavor of the cigars storedin the humidor. The present inventors have therefore determined that asan inventive departure, the casing of any components placed in thehumidor itself needs to be manufactured out of a material which iseither incapable of giving out smells or fumes, or alternatively itneeds to be manufactured from a material commonly in use insidehumidors, such as cedar wood. Embodiments of the present inventions havebeen made using stainless steel, cedar wood and anodized aluminumcasings. A preferred embodiment of the invention uses cedar wood for thecasing since it is desirable that all components of a humidor are madeof cedar wood by industry convention. The present inventors haverealized that this general principle ought to be extended to sensorcasings placed inside a humidor. Another inventive departure by thepresent inventors was the shape of the casing. All known prior artproducts were general purpose humidity and/or temperature sensors with acasing that was not optimized specifically for use in a humidor. Thepresent inventors have found that in order to get an optimum measurementquality the sensors need to be placed as close to the produce as ispossible. Cigars in a humidor are ordinarily stored in stacks or rackswhich are placed in the humidor. Within a rack the cigars are placed inrows. Embodiments of the present invention have shaped the sensor casingessentially like a cigar. This shape has the advantage, that the sensorsassembly can be placed adjacent to the cigars, or right in between thecigars, in virtually any humidor currently on the marketplace. FIG. 1 Bshows the shape and placement of the sensor assembly in a preferredembodiment. The sensors and the HSPS components 180 are housed in acigar-shaped and cigar-sized casing made out of stainless steel 185comprising slit-shaped vents 187 for optimal air circulation to thesensors inside the casing. The HSPS assembly 180 is then placed betweenthe cigars 191 on a humidor rack 195. The humidor racks are typicallyarranged as stacks 190 in larger humidors. Moreover, the racks 195 tendto have holes 196 for better ventilation between racks.

FIG. 2 relates to a flow chart depicting the flow of events starting 205from a detection of an airing event 210 and ending with the notificationof a stakeholder 240. Whenever an airing event 210 is detected theairing timer is started 220 and at the same time any existing alertstates are cancelled 235. It is important to point out in this contextthat any humidor can only have a single instance of an airing timerrunning at any given time. The consequence is that every time an airingevent is detected and before an alert status has been reached the timeris being reset. If, however, the timer has reached a set threshold 225without another airing event having reset the procedure, then an alertstate 230 is being reached and a supervisor 240 is being notified. Thealert state is left on until such time that the next airing event isbeing detected. In a preferred embodiment, there is a plurality of alertstates, namely pre-alert and full alert. The airing timer in that caseis configured to have two thresholds which will trigger an alertnotification to a supervisor. In the case of a pre-alert, the supervisoris informed by the system that a full alert is imminent in case nocorrective action is taken in time. Therefore shortly before theenvironmental condition which is being monitored reaches a danger level,the supervisor is informed on a precautionary basis. In the preferredembodiment of the cigar humidor setting, the supervisor is firstinformed that an airing out is required imminently. In case that no suchairing out event is detected until the time to the second threshold haselapsed, the system proceeds to full alert status. Full alert statussignifies that merchandise is in immediate danger of spoiling in case noimmediate remediate action is taken. In a preferred embodiment thesystem also monitors the time which has elapsed since full alert status.That information helps a humidor supervisor to decide if the merchandiseis still fit for sale at all and, if yes, if there needs to be amarkdown in quality. For example a cigar humidor which has not beenaired in several weeks may still hold cigars fit for human consumption,albeit such cigars may have to be marked down as no longer havingpremium quality status.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart presenting further detail with respect todetecting timing events in a preferred embodiment. In the depictedembodiment the flow starts 305 and begins with the detection of anairing event 306, which in turn is modelled as a sub-flow. In thatsub-flow the control flow is at first multiplexed 308. Throughmultiplexing it is possible to utilize three different alternativedetection methods in parallel. The multiplexer allows, as one of thealternatives, to monitor an airing vent for an “open” state. This canaccomplished on a technical level with a door contact on a humidor, forexample. If the vent has been open for a minimum prescribed time, then athreshold is reached. In decision step 311 that threshold is queried. Ifthe threshold time for the vent being open has been breached, then anairing event 340 is being triggered. Another multiplexer alternative isto monitor for a time-based humidity differential 315. In other words,the system is looking for outliers in time-series data relating tohumidity measurements. If such an outlier has been detected, then anairing event is being triggered 340. The last multiplexer alternativerelates to manual notification, in other words, the humidor user pressesa button, or uses some other suitable notification method, in order toinform the system that the humidor has been aired out successfully.Likewise to the other multiplexer alternatives, an airing event is beingregistered on a positive decision 322. Once an airing event has beendetected, the airing timer is started 350. At this point in time theinformation regarding the airing event is still local to the HSPS. Thereare, however, regular synchronization events which initiatesynchronization of HSPS data with HAMA data. The system waits for such asynchronization event 335 and then pushes the timer state outwards tothe set of HAMAs, i.e. the plurality of humidor account monitoring apps.

FIG. 4 details how automatic detection of an airing event isaccomplished in a preferred embodiment. The figure depicts two graphswhere relative humidity is charted against a time axis. The first graph410 relates to the relative humidity inside a humidor, whereas thesecond graph 420 depicts the relative humidity of the air outside of thehumidor, i.e. the room in which the humidor is situated. What comes toattention when comparing the curves 410 and 420 is that curve 410 ismuch smoother and uniform than curve 420. This is explained by the factthat there is only miniscule circulation of air inside of a humidor,whereas in the room housing the humidor, typically a shop on a highstreet, there is a considerable movement of air. Especially randomexchange of room air with outside air causes considerable spikes andtroughs in the corresponding graph 420. Generally in a shop setting,customers coming in through the shop entrance is a series of eventscausing random fluctuations in the curve 420. The inside of the humidor,on the other hand, is shielded against such random fluctuations by thelack of significant air exchange with the air outside of the humidor.This situation changes, however, as soon as a humidor is opened for anyreason. As soon as the humidor door is open, the air inside the humidoris rapidly replaced by outside air with the same characteristics,including rapid fluctuations in relative humidity. On FIG. 4 such aperiod of free exchange of air is demarcated by lines 415 and 416. Line415 signifies the humidor door having been opened and line 416 signifiesthe said door having been closed again. The preferred embodiment of thepresent invention uses mathematical methods relating to outlierdetection in a time series in order to algorithmically being able todifferentiate the periods in which free air exchange could take place.Once the period of free air exchange reaches a pre-configured threshold,then an airing event is deemed to have taken place and the system isautomatically notified accordingly.

FIG. 5 is a timing diagram which illustrates the concepts of how the“open” states of a humidor vent or door are being mapped to specificalert states. It has to be emphasized that detection of “open” statescan be accomplished in a multitude of ways, most importantly doorsensors and time-series analysis of relative humidity data. The timingdiagram of FIG. 5 is subdivided into three lanes, depicting the door“open” state, the alert state and the timeline. Within the timelinethere are three distinct periods, wherein the door was opened, namelyperiods 510, 511 and 512. At the beginning the alert state depicted inlane 502 was the “normal” state. Unless an airing event is beingdetected in the interim, the alert states are configured to progressfrom “normal” to “pre-alert” and “alert” at pre-determined intervals. Inthe depicted example a “normal” period has a duration of 22.5 time unitsuntil the state changes to “pre-alert”, which has a duration of 20.0time units in the example. After the “pre-alert” period has elapsed, the“alert” period follows. The “alert” period does not exhibit a maximumduration. The “alert” period lasts until either an airing event is beingdetected or alternatively, the alert status is manually reset by anoperator. It should be pointed out also that the configured time periodsfor the “normal” and the “pre-alert” status are entirely flexible andsubject only to the requirements and preferences of the individualhumidor operator. In FIG. 5, the “open” period 510 does not result in achanged alert state due to the fact, that the door was not left open forlong enough to been deemed an airing event. Therefore the “normal” state521 is not affected by the brief opening of the humidor and after theset maximum time span for the “normal” state is exceeded, the “normal”state 521 changes to the “pre-alert” state 522. The “pre-alert” state522, however is cut short by the “open” period 511. This is because attime 531, the airing threshold has been exceeded. In the depictedexample the airing threshold is arbitrarily set to 2 time units. Hencewhenever the humidor door has been in the “open” state for more than 2time units, an airing event is triggered, which in turn resets the alertstate to “normal”. In the present example that airing event took placeat time 531, thus resetting the alert status to “normal” 523. Afteranother 22 time units without an airing event, the threshold for theescalation to “pre-alert” status has been reached at time 532. Afteranother 20 time units have elapsed, at time 533, the “pre-alert” status524 changes automatically to the “alert” status 525. The “alert” statuscontinues for such time until the next airing event is being detected,which happens at time 534. Afterwards the alert status is reset back to“normal” 526.

FIG. 6 is a use case diagram relating to use cases concerning a humidorsupervisor 601. The humidor supervisor typically is a salesrepresentative who is responsible for overseeing a plurality ofhumidors, each of which being associated to a plurality of customeraccounts. The humidor supervisor could potentially also be a privatecigar collector who merely wishes to monitor a plurality of humidors ina domestic setting. The humidor supervisor is responsible for specifyingproduct specific airing requirements 610. Different types or brands ofcigars tend to have different storage and airing requirements and it isthe responsibility of the humidor supervisor to transpose theserequirement into the system, whereby the HAMA smartphone app wouldnormally be used to accomplish that goal. The humidor supervisor is alsoresponsible for manually resetting the alert status 620, if required.Viewing the account data 630, is another of the use cases of the humidorsupervisor. That use case involves accessing business intelligence datarelating to the plurality of humidors through the HAMA app. The HAMA appalso assists the humidor supervisor in this context by helping toprepare humidor maintenance and inspection schedules alongside theassociated itineraries. Another use case that the humidor supervisor isinvolved in is arranging the airing of a humidor in response to an alertrelayed via the HAMA app 640. In case a humidor has not been aired inthe correct timeframe by a local humidor attendant, the humidorsupervisor is alerted as part of an escalation procedure so thatspoilage of valuable cigar stock can be avoided.

FIG. 7 is a use case diagram of relating, individually, to the HumidorSensor Processing System (HSPS) 710, the Humidor Account Monitoring App(HAMA) 730 and the humidor user 720. The prime use case of the HSPSrelates to collecting sensor data 712. Moreover it is a use case of theHSPS to display, or sound, alerts 711 targeted at a humidor attendant.The HAMA app in turn serves two major use cases, one is to notify thehumidor supervisor that a humidor requires airing 731, the other is toprepare a humidor maintenance schedule or a related itinerary 733. Thehumidor user (or shop attendant) 720 serves three major use cases:opening the humidor to access stock 721, effecting an airing out of thehumidor in response to either an HSPS alert or an explicit request bythe humidor supervisor 723, or to press an “airing accomplished” buttonwhenever the humidor has been aired out successfully 724. The use casesintroduced in FIGS. 6 and 7 are merely illustrative of the mostimportant use cases in a preferred embodiment and as such are notintended to be limiting.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are system diagrams depicting the major sub-componentsmaking up both the HSPS and the HAMA components. In FIG. 8 the HSPS issplit up into its sub-components. The topmost box 810 depicts theinput/output components which are comprised in a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention. Specifically these input/output components arecomprised of: a humidity sensor 811, a temperature sensor 813, an airingnotification button 813, and an airing alert light 813. Additionalsensors and additional or alternative alert or notifications methods arealso possible in other embodiments. The core HSPS system 820 comprises astate engine 832 which keeps track of both alert states and “door open”states. The state engine takes input from the time threshold datarepository 836, which stores details on the time intervals which effecta change of state when exceeded.

The state engine takes further input from the airing event detectionengine 833, which notifies the state engine of airing events. The stateengine also takes input from timer 834 which it uses to estimate theduration of both the “door open” state and the plurality alert states.Furthermore the state engine takes input from the rules engine 828 whichtranslates airing requirements data 821 into instructions that may beinterpreted by the state engine. The short term logging engine 830 is anevent logger that logs all relevant events arising from the rules engine828, the messaging engine 823, the state engine 832 and the airing eventdetection engine 833. These events are stored in the short term log 824.The short term log also stores all data produced by the HSPSinput/output components 810. The short term log acts as a buffer fordata that is waiting to be synchronized with the HAMA apps that serve asmediators for long-term storage. Synchronization with the HAMA app isaccomplished by the HAMA synchronization engine 840 which comprises aweb service interface allowing it to network with a plurality of HAMAinstances.

FIG. 9 depicts the major components of the HAMA app 910. The HSPSinterface 950 is responsible for establishing a communications link withthe plurality of associated HSPS through a web service accessed over theInternet. The data which is buffered by the HSPS in the form of theshort-term log data is pushed to the HAMA apps through the web serviceand subsequently becomes part of the HAMA long-term log. It has to benoted that the long-term data is not necessarily stored on thepersistent memory of the smartphone-type device hosting the app, butthat the HAMA app may make use of cloud services in order to delegatelong-term data storage. It is the function of the long-term loggingengine 922 to determine the most appropriate storage location forlong-term data. The long-term logging engine will normally keep a cacheof recent data on the persistent memory of the device hosting the HAMAapp. Most of the long-term logging data will however be stored andarchived in the cloud. The HAMA app also comprises data not available onHSPS, namely address data 926, humidor data 938 and merchandise data940. The address data related to the various sites where HSPS-monitoredhumidors are installed. The humidor data relates to humidor-specificparameters, such as manufacturer, type, model and capacity. Themerchandise data in turn relates to information concerning themerchandise stored in the humidors, such as cigar brands, best beforedate, batch numbers and airing requirements for particular brands. Thestatistics engine 930 extracts business intelligence from the datarepository. Such business intelligence includes data on detected airingevents. The business intelligence data is processed by the reportingengine 928 which translates raw data into a human readable format, suchas a PDF document containing tables, graphs and charts. The reportingengine is connected to an itinerary planning engine 920, which takesinto account impending airing requirements throughout the humidornetwork. Itineraries can be produced which allow a sales representativeto visit stores where merchandise is at risk of spoilage due to lack ofobservance of airing requirements.

The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particularembodiments described in this application, which are intended asillustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations canbe made without departing from its spirit and scope, as will be apparentto those skilled in the art. Functionally equivalent methods andapparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to thoseenumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from theforegoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intendedto fall within the scope of the appended claims.

The above detailed description describes various features and functionsof the disclosed systems, devices, and methods with reference to theaccompanying figures. In the figures, similar symbols typically identifysimilar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The exampleembodiments described herein and in the figures are not meant to belimiting. Other embodiments can be utilized, and other changes can bemade, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matterpresented herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of thepresent disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated inthe figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, anddesigned in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which areexplicitly contemplated herein. With respect to any or all of thediagrams, scenarios, and flow charts in the figures and as discussedherein, each block and/or communication can represent a processing ofinformation and/or a transmission of information in accordance withexample embodiments. Alternative embodiments are included within thescope of these example embodiments. In these alternative embodiments,for example, functions described as blocks, transmissions,communications, requests, responses, and/or messages can be executed outof order from that shown or discussed, including substantiallyconcurrent or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved.Further, more or fewer blocks and/or functions can be used with any ofthe diagrams, scenarios, and flow charts discussed herein, and thesediagrams, scenarios, and flow charts can be combined with one another,in part or in whole.

A block that represents a processing of information can correspond tocircuitry that can be configured to perform the specific logicalfunctions of a herein-described method or technique. Alternatively oradditionally, a block that represents a processing of information cancorrespond to a module, a segment, or a portion of program code(including related data). The program code can include one or moreinstructions executable by a processor for implementing specific logicalfunctions or actions in the method or technique. The program code and/orrelated data can be stored on any type of computer readable medium suchas a storage device including a disk or hard drive or other storagemedium.

The computer readable medium can also include non-transitory computerreadable media such as computer-readable media that stores data forshort periods of time like register memory, processor cache, and randomaccess memory (RAM). The computer readable media can also includenon-transitory computer readable media that stores program code and/ordata for longer periods of time, such as secondary or persistent longterm storage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks,compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. The computerreadable media can also be any other volatile or non-volatile storagesystems. A computer readable medium can be considered a computerreadable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device.

Moreover, a block that represents one or more information transmissionscan correspond to information transmissions between software and/orhardware modules in the same physical device. However, other informationtransmissions can be between software modules and/or hardware modules indifferent physical devices.

The particular arrangements shown in the figures should not be viewed aslimiting. It should be understood that other embodiments can includemore or less of each element shown in a given figure. Further, some ofthe illustrated elements can be combined or omitted. Yet further, anexample embodiment can include elements that are not illustrated in thefigures.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, otheraspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes ofillustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scopeand spirit being indicated by the following claims.

DEFINITIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

Herein below are a few definitions and clarifications. As used herein:The terms “a” and “an”, when modifying a noun, do not imply that onlyone of the noun exists.

The term “comprise” (and grammatical variations thereof) shall beconstrued broadly, as if followed by “Without limitation”. If Acomprises B, then A includes B and may include other things.

The term “e. g.” means including without limitation. The fact that an“example” or multiple examples of something are given does not implythat they are the only instances of that thing. An example (or a groupof examples) is merely a non-exhaustive and non-limiting illustration.

The term “include” (and grammatical variations thereof) shall beconstrued broadly, as if followed by “Without limitation”.

The term “or” is an inclusive disjunctive. For example “A or B” is trueif A is true, or B is true, or both A or B are true.

A parenthesis is simply to make text easier to read, by indicating agrouping of words. A parenthesis does not mean that the parentheticalmaterial is optional or can be ignored.

What is claimed is:
 1. Apparatus for alerting a user to a spoilagehazard in relation to goods stored inside a container, the apparatuscomprising: a humidity sensor; and means for detecting airing events. 2.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the said container is a cigar humidor.3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the means for detecting airingevents include notification means, wherein a human operator may effectnotification that an airing of the said container has been accomplished.4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the said notification means includea push button and wherein the said push button is accessible on a casingof the said humidity sensor.
 5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein thesaid notification means include a notification function as part of anapplication which is configured to be executable on the group ofcomputing devices consisting of: smartphone, tablet, notebook orpersonal computer.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the means fordetecting airing events include an “open” state sensor in combinationwith a venting means of the said container.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the means for detecting airing events include one or moreprocessors configured to run a time series anomaly discovery algorithmon time series data comprising measurements of relative humidity.
 8. Themeans for detecting airing events of claim 7, wherein the said timeseries anomaly discovery algorithm comprises time series anomalydiscovery with grammar-based compression.
 9. The means for detectingairing events of claim 8, wherein the said time series anomaly discoveryalgorithm comprises a first function for discretizing the input timeseries into a string and a second function for inducing a context-freegrammar from the said string.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thehumidity sensor is housed in a casing shaped and sized substantiallysimilar to an item of an article of merchandise which the said containeris configured to hold.
 11. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein thehumidity sensor is housed in a casing shaped and sized substantiallysimilar to a cigar.
 12. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the humiditysensor is housed in a casing made from a material selected from thegroup consisting of: wood, stainless steel and anodized aluminum. 13.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the humidity sensor is housed in acasing comprising wood of a type selected from the group consisting of:Spanish Cedar, American Red Cedar and Honduran Mahogany.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein the humidity sensor is housed in a casingcomprising cedar wood of the type Spanish Cedar.
 15. A method forsetting an alert state of an environmental monitoring system in relationto an airing of a container being due, comprising, in combination:determining a first timestamp of a most recent airing event; andstarting a timer, wherein the timer is configured to measure the timeelapsed since the said timestamp of a most recent airing event; andalerting a stakeholder whenever the elapsed time of the said timer isgreater or equal to a pre-configured time interval.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the said container is a cigar humidor.
 17. The methodof claim 15, comprising the step of detecting an anomaly in a timeseries of measurements of relative humidity inside the said container.18. The method of claim 15, comprising the step of allowing a user ofthe said environmental monitoring system to configure the said timeinterval for the said container individually as opposed to configuringthe time interval collectively for a plurality of containers.
 19. Themethod of claim 15, comprising the step of resetting the said timerwhenever a second timestamp relating to a more recent airing event canbe determined.
 20. The method of claim 15, comprising the step ofcancelling an alert state whenever a second timestamp of a more recentairing event than the first timestamp can be determined.
 21. The methodof claim 15, wherein the said alert state is selected from the groupconsisting of: pre-alert and full alert.